King Arthur: A Slight Modification
by The Rush
Summary: Six friends - Christopher, Kelsey, Krista, Courtney, Katie, and Sharayah - are suddenly thrown into the movie, King Arthur, after choosing a strange feature on the DVD. They must take false identities: two warriors, one barmaid, a Woad, and two Saxons.
1. Chapter I: A Strange Turn of Events

'Ello, 'ello, all! Yes, it's me again, Adarthang! I'm coming to you again, with another fanfic. It's been a while, eh?

So, I'll just get into the thick of it!

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Disclaimer: I do not own Arthur, Lancelot, Galahad, Gawain, Tristan, Bors, Dagonet, Guinevere, Merlin, Cerdic, Cynric, blah-blah-blah... Neither do I own Kelsey, Krista, Katie, Courtney, or Sharayah. They're real people. Lol. But I own Christopher. Why? Because he's me.

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Chapter I: A Strange Afternoon

"I came to see your face so that I alone may find you on the battlefield. And it will be good of you to mark my face, Saxon, for the next time you see it, it will be the last thing you see on this earth."

Christopher grinned. "That's an awesome line," he said gleefully.

Christopher Nichols and his five good friends Kelsey, Krista, Katie, Courtney, and Sharayah were all sitting at his house, watching 'King Arthur'. It was the first time the six of them had ever been physically together, as a group. Christopher had known Kelsey for a long time, but the two of them had met the others over the Internet.

"That's because it's Arthur saying it," said Sharayah.

"This whole movie is awesome," said Katie.

"Especially the extended version," Courtney put in.

"Yeah," agreed Krista, "except that they drag out Tristan's death. Not nice at all."

"At least Tristan gets extra screen time," said Christopher. "Poor Dag doesn't get any. Of course, Lance gets a whole bunch of extra time." He shot a mock filthy look at Kelsey.

"Yeah well, that's because Lancelot is the coolest," Kelsey retorted.

Christopher was fifteen, with medium-length light brown hair. His eyes were greyish-blue, and he was about five foot four. He was very sarcastic, but good-natured. Sort of like a rather intelligent dog with a sharp tongue.

Kelsey, at fourteen, was the youngest of their little group. She had hazel eyes, dark brown hair, and was about as tall as Christopher. She and Christopher had known each other since Grade Two. She had an unusual talent for making Christopher feel like a berk.

Krista was just a little older than Christopher. She had recently black hair. No one could really tell what colour her eyes were...they were believed to be greyish-blue as well. She was about an inch taller than Christopher and Kelsey. In terms of her personality, Krista was very Christopher-esque. Or Christopher was Krista-esque. One of the two.

Courtney was sixteen years old. She had brown hair and blue eyes. She had light skin. Court was a mischievous sort of girl, but of course knew where to draw the line. She wasn't one you'd expect to see in the darkest cell in Alcatraz, but neither would you expect to see her on the brightest cloud in heaven.

At the age of seventeen, Katie did not have long to go before college. She had red hair with white-blonde roots. She had fair skin. Even at two years older than Christopher and three older than Kelsey, she was about their height. Katie was a more amiable, sensitive sort of person. Well, she was more so than Christopher and Kelsey, in any case.

Last but not least was Sharayah. She was the oldest of the group, at eighteen, and in college. She had shoulder-length blonde hair and green eyes. Sharayah represented the more sensible side of the six. That didn't mean she always took the smart way out, but she could control herself and think things through in bad situations.

There were two main things the six of them shared. The first was a love of King Arthur. Christopher's favourite was Dagonet, Kelsey's was Lancelot, Krista's was Tristan, Courtney's was Galahad, and Sharayah's was the great king himself. Katie did not really have a favourite; she just liked them all.

The other was a knack for causing trouble, and enjoying it. They weren't criminals; they didn't steal or anything like that. They just...seemed to have a strange love of mischief.

"Lancelot the coolest?" said Christopher incredulously. "Never! Dag's the coolest, followed by Gawain. Lancelot comes in third."

"That's what you think," said Kelsey.

"Just shut up and watch the movie," laughed Krista, attempting to sound irritated but failing due to her amusement of the situation.

Half an hour later, the movie was over. After they had all created their various praises of the film, Christopher picked up the grey plastic zapper and flicked the DVD back to the main menu.

"Well, let's go outside now," he said. "My neck is killing – "

"What's that?" asked Katie.

On the main menu had appeared another option. This one read 'You are in the movie!'

"I didn't know this movie had that option," said Christopher, settling in again. "Let's have a look at that."

He selected the option and pressed 'Select' on the remote. As soon as he had done so, the television screen went black. So did the entire room, actually, seconds later.

"What the hell's going on?" Christopher blurted out. He suddenly realized he could see someone else, perfectly lit, in the darkness. It was Katie. "Katie!" he said. "What's happening?"

"I don't know..." said Katie, looking around the darkness. "Did the power go out?"

Suddenly, the invisible ground beneath them started to shake, and they both fell over. Christopher braced himself to hit the coffee table, but he didn't. He just fell to the floor – a dirt floor!

Just then the lights came back on. But they were no longer in Christopher's living room. They were both lying spread-eagled on the ground in some sort of forest. There was a large tree inches away from Christopher's head.

"I'm glad I didn't hit that..." Christopher managed to joke, staggering to his feet. He walked over to Katie, took her hand, and helped her up.

"Thanks," she said. "Where are we?"

"I have no idea," confessed Christopher. "A forest, evidently."

They were interrupted by someone shouting not far away from them. It sounded like he was giving orders. They could hear the soft clanking of metal, and many footsteps.

"Hide!" hissed Christopher. He and Katie dove over a small outcropping in the trail, onto a hill, and hid under the overhang.

The footsteps got louder and closer, until they were right above the two teenagers. Dirt fell from the root-stricken overhang above them, sticking in their hair. Katie clenched her eyes tight, hoping not to get dirt in them. Christopher kept his open, but his head low. Something fell onto the hillside from the trail above them. Christopher reached out swiftly and snatched it, to find out what it was.

It was a sword. Evidently it had fallen out of its sheath, for its short, leaf-shaped blade was exposed. It had a spherical, wooden pommel, and a half-spherical, wooden crossguard. The grip was carved of bone.

"This is a Roman sword," Christopher breathed, his eyes wide. Even Katie opened her eyes to see.

Then they heard voices.

"By God, I've dropped my sword!" came one.

"Shh!" said Katie, as she and Christopher flattened themselves against the back of the little cave. Hopefully they were in enough darkness that whoever it was would not notice them.

"Well, jump over and get it," said another voice. "Hurry up, though."

Then there was a much faster sound of clanking metal, coming towards them. Someone was coming to retrieve his sword. Christopher stuck it in the soft dirt wall next to him, down to the hilt.

A pair of legs hit the ground just outside the mouth of the cave. On the feet were sandals, and whoever it was was wearing a very short, red skirt. They could see no higher than his waist.

"It's a Roman," Katie gasped.

"Perhaps not," Christopher reasoned, though half of him did not agree. "This could just be one of those creative anachronism things. I've always wanted to do that."

They then realized their mistake – they had not kept their voices low enough. The Roman stopped searching for his sword, stood up, and looked around. "Who goes there?" he demanded. After a few seconds, he returned to his searching. When his labours returned no fruit, he gave up and returned to his regiment. When he was far away, Christopher bravely stuck his head out to have a look. They were gone. He beckoned to Katie to follow him out, which she did, bringing the sword with her.

Darkness suddenly enveloped Kelsey. She looked around frantically, standing up. She could see no one... What was happening?

Everything began to rumble and shake, and she was knocked off balance. She fell to the floor – but instead of hitting a carpet she hit a stone surface. She moved her hands around the floor, feeling cracks between stone bricks as she did so. Suddenly her vision came back to her.

She stood up, amid the sound of laughter from people around her. Sighing with relief, her eyes still closed, she realized the power must have gone out and she had fallen over. No doubt Christopher, Krista, Katie, Court, and Rayah were the ones laughing at her.

"All right, you guys – " Kelsey began, opening her eyes, but stopped short. She was certainly not in Christopher's house. She was in a small, stone room with an open door. There were shelves filled with clay mugs covering the walls, and wooden barrels on the floor. Where was she?

Kelsey cautiously walked over to the door and poked her head out. What she saw was not good. There was a large, open area filled with tables, at which sat men, laughing and enjoying drinks. There was a bar a little ways away. She was in some sort of tavern.

Something clicked in Kelsey's memory – it looked just like the tavern in King Arthur!

Kelsey swayed on the spot, close to fainting. She had arrived in fifth century Camelot!

Well, if she were there, she had to get 'in character', as it were. She couldn't be seen wearing the clothes she was. She looked around the store-room, hoping there were some clothes there...just her luck! There was a white underdress, a plum-coloured skirt and a plum-coloured lace-up bodice hanging on the wall. They must have been a barmaid's outfit.

"Sorry...whoever owns this," said Kelsey, and she began redressing herself.

"You guys?" shouted Krista, looking around the pitch black where Christopher's room had been a few seconds before. "Is anyone there?"

Krista was thrown onto the ground as the room rocked back and forth violently. She landed on her side, sending a massive pain through her right arm. Her head hit something quite solid, and she was dizzied by it.

Suddenly everything came into view again. Her eyes were having trouble coming into focus, but she was fairly sure that she was in a forest. A dark forest, by the look of it. She had hit her head on a tree behind her. She stood up carefully, not wanting to fall over, and using the tree, steadied herself.

Where was this place? Not Christopher's living room, definitely. In the distance, she could see some yellow, flickering light. It was emanating from a fire, evidently. Krista felt no choice but to just head for it.

She began running through the undergrowth, scratching her arms on some thorn bushes as she went, but she didn't care. This was just too weird to be bothered by a little thing like that.

Krista stopped about thirty feet before the source of light. There was some sort of village there, comprised of huts made of sticks. There were people sitting around the fire, in very dilapidated, scanty clothing. Their hair was shaggy, grizzled, and dirty. They looked almost like...Woads.

They were Woads!

Krista quickly hid behind a thick tree. What was she going to do?

Courtney and Sharayah stood up suddenly. The lights had gone out, plunging them into utter darkness.

"What on earth...?" stuttered Courtney.

"Court!" said Sharayah. "What's going – "

They were suddenly interrupted, for the room had begun quaking and trembling. Sharayah fell backwards and hit something solid. She managed to use it to keep herself standing, whereas Courtney was not so fortunate, and fell on her backside on the ground.

"Wha-a-a-t-t-s ha-a-a-a-ppe-e-ening?" Sharayah stammered, her voice going on and off with the force of the shaking.

Then everything went still, and light returned. But they weren't where they were before the lights had gone out. Courtney was sitting on dry grass, a small distance from a dirt road. Sharayah was leaning against a stone hut with a thatched roof.

"Where are we?" said Courtney, standing up and massaging her bruise.

Then the two of them heard the sounds of screaming and fighting in the distance. They looked to their right and saw...

"Saxons!" Courtney said hoarsely. It was true. There was an army of thousands of Saxons attacking the small village they had arrived in.

"Saxons?" said Sharayah disbelievingly. "Oh, no."

"They'll kill us!" said Court miserably.

"We have to disguise ourselves," suggested Sharayah. "As Saxons, would be best. That way they won't be tempted – as much – to kill us."

"Good idea," said Courtney. "There's two coming over! Hide!"

Courtney and Sharayah hid behind a hut each. Sharayah picked up a large stone, and Courtney a heavy branch. They prepared for the inevitable...

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What do you think so far? What will happen to Christopher, Kelsey, Krista, Katie – and especially Court and Rayah??? Find out when I update (if I get enough encouragement)!


	2. Chapter II: Getting In Character

I'm glad my story is being enjoyed so far! b Guess Who b : Glad you liked it. You're going to be serving the knights drinks fairly soon! b Dagg-Dag /b : Thank you for your support! b Warrior-princess /b : No, the inspiration is not from Timeline, though I do love that movie!

Thanks for all your appreciation!

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Katie, with some difficulty, crawled out of the cramped little cave. Her red hair was riddled with damp dirt fallen from the roof.

"Here's the sword," she said, handing Christopher the Gladius and brushing the dirt from her hair.

"Thanks," Christopher replied, examining the sword with awe. "Wow, a Roman Gladius. Probably not genuine, but still..."

Katie smiled in amusement. Christopher sure loved swords. And he'd been after a Roman one to add to his collection for a while, now.

Christopher held the short sword by the blade and flipped it into his hand. "It's so light," he said.

"Shouldn't we get a move on?" suggested Katie. "It'll be getting dark soon. We should try and find our way back."

"Good plan," said Christopher, sliding the sword into his belt. "We'll try and get this back to whoever owns it later."

So, the pair of friends returned to the dirt path. They looked around.

"Which way should we go?" asked Katie.

"Let's go the way the Roman – people – things came from," said Christopher, struggling to find the right word. "That way, we're sure to find civilization."

Katie nodded her head in agreement, rippling her red hair. Christopher drew the sword over-dramatically and pointed the way. "Let's go," he said in a heroic voice. They both laughed and started to walk down the road.

After about ten minutes of walking, they still had not found the way out.

"We must be pretty deep in a forest," said Katie. "Have you ever been here before?"

Christopher shook his head. "No," he denied. "Never. My question is not where we are, but how we got here."

"There is that, too," replied Katie. Suddenly she stopped. "Look," she said, and pointed. Christopher walked over to see where she was pointing. Sure enough, between the trees, there could be seen a building. Or, part of a building anyway.

"Thank God for that," said Christopher, immensely relieved. "That's a funny looking building, though..."

"Mmm..." agreed Katie, running her tongue along her teeth. "It looks like...stone."

"Well, let's get a closer look," said Christopher. "I can't see it being made out of stone, somehow."

They rounded a corner they were nearing, and they found the mouth of the path. Katie and Christopher ran down, and out of the mouth, and gasped. Sprawling fields lay before them, with grass as green as emerald. The sky was light grey. They were right in thinking there was a stone building there, but the kind of building was what made it even more unbelievable. It was not one building, but a walled manor. Near it there was a small village, comprised of dilapidated, wooden, one-room houses, with a firepit ablaze in the centre.

The realization hit them at the same time. It was the estate of Marius Honorius.

"What the Hell's going on?" Christopher blurted out.

"We're in the movie," breathed Katie, her eyes misting over, as though she would pass out any moment.

"Come on," said Christopher. "Let's head over and get some clothes. Because I doubt many people are going to have seen clothes like we're wearing."

"Good idea," said Katie, nodding her head.

Kelsey tied up the last string on the front of the lace-up bodice. She pulled the elastic holding her ponytail in place from her hair, and put it in her pocket. That would definitely give her away.

'Well, this is a strange turn of events,' thought Kelsey, as she took a deep breath and pushed the door of the storeroom open. She walked out into the sun of the open tavern, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the light.

No one seemed to give her half a glance, so she presumed her disguise was working. Good. That was the first challenge passed. The next was to find out what point in the movie this was.

Again, a swift answer came her way. She spied a group of tough-looking men wearing chainmail, plate armour, or leather standing about. It was the knights. Kelsey could see Dagonet and Bors chatting; Gawain, Galahad, and Tristan knife-throwing; and (her heart stopped for a moment) Lancelot playing at dice.

The man playing with Lancelot pulled his winning towards him, but Lancelot abruptly stuck his dagger in the wooden table, stopping him. "Best of three," he said shrewdly.

Kelsey grinned slightly. If she wasn't in a castle, fifteen-hundred years before her birth, she would have probably laughed openly.

"You! Wench!" came a gruff man's voice. Kelsey took no notice of the voice, having never been addressed in such a manner. Suddenly a heavy hand clapped her shoulder, and spun her around. The man she looked at was about forty, with a thick, short beard and the same sort of hair on the top of his head.

"Answer me when I talk to you, wench!" he barked in a thick cockney accent. "Sir Bors and Dagonet want drinks! Go on, 'oppit!

"'ere, I don't think I've met you before. New employee, are yeh? Woss your name?"

"Uhh, my name is...Katarina," she answered.

"Ka'arina?" he said, slightly suspiciously. "Well, Kat, get to work!"

With that, he shoved her off towards the sheltered bar.

Krista took several long, deep breaths. She had to stay calm. But - Woads! Would they kill her?

Well, it wasn't worth taking the chance. She had to disguise herself as one of them. It was either that or try and escape the forest, and risk running into more of them. It was a bit of a Hobson's choice, really.

The fifteen year old looked around frantically for something she could change into...aha! She spotted some ragged clothing hanging off a tree branch. It would have to do. Carefully, moving slowly, Krista tiptoed towards the clothes. The problem was, there was someone leaning up against a tree nearby, looking in the direction of the village. If he saw her, she was toast.

So she moved as quietly and stealthily as she could be. She crept past the guard (who grasped an unpleasant-looking spear, Krista noticed), like a convict trying to slip past a policeman.

A twig snapped under her foot. Krista cursed herself, but it was lucky the guard had coughed at the exact same time. Wiping sweat from her brow, Krista continued towards the clothes.

Finally, she reached them. Good, they were a woman's outfit. There was a strip of brown cloth – presumably for a top – and a ragged pair of brown pants which stretched to about her knees. There was a rope hanging on the branch also, apparently to use as a belt, judging by the small holes every few inches on the waist of the pants.

So, taking the clothes, Krista hid in a thick patch of bushes and quickly changed into the Woad outfit. It fit her quite well, but Krista would have preferred something less itchy and filthy. She messed her hair up and smeared dirt and twigs in it, to add to the illusion. Then she rolled around on the ground a little (which was actually quite fun), nearly finishing the disguise. All she needed was her blue paint. She'd get that when she reached the village, she decided.

So, digging a hole, she hid her shirt and pants. Then she filled the hole in and stood up. It was a pity. She liked that shirt...

Then Krista bravely walked towards the guard. When she was about a yard away, he heard her and turned around.

"Who are you?" he demanded, pointing his spear.

"I am a Woad," lied Krista, putting her hands up. She pulled at the material on the trousers a little to indicate such. Thankfully, the guard lowered his spear.

"Very well," he replied, in his deep voice.

"What village is this?" inquired Krista.

"This is Novanti," answered the sentry. "Home of Great Merlin."

"I must speak with Merlin," said Krista. "Is that possible?"

"I will escort you to the village," said the guard, motioning her over to him. She hastened to obey. He didn't look like one to cross.

They were about to move, when he spoke again. "What is your name?" he inquired.

"My name is...Nomokis," answered Krista, thinking of a spiritual name. "It means 'moonlight'."

"Very well, Nomokis," said the guard. "Follow me."

Court and Rayah stood, hidden, behind their buildings. They were poised for attack. Courtney wielded a very heavy branch, and Sharayah a stone. The Saxon footsteps got closer, closer...

Suddenly their two visitors emerged. Immediately, the girls sprung into action. Court swung her branch round sideways, smashing the Saxon on the left square in the face. He fell unconscious on the ground. The other turned to face Courtney, drew his sword, but soon followed his partner, as Sharayah clonked him hard on the head with the stone.

Courtney let out a breath of relief.

"You don't think they're dead, do you?" said Sharayah, kneeling down.

"I don't think so," said Courtney, doing so also. They each touched one of the Saxons' throats. "This one's still alive. He's got a pretty bloody nose, though."

"He's alright, too," confirmed Rayah. "He's got a nasty bump on his head, but that's about all."

"What are we going to do?" said Courtney urgently.

"Well, our best chance of survival is probably to disguise ourselves as Saxons," said Rayah.

Courtney gulped. "I really don't like the idea of sharing ranks with those men. Nor do I like the idea of doing the kind of things THEY like to do."

"We won't," said Rayah. "We'll just pretend. C'mon, let's get these uniforms off them.

So they set to work, preparing their 'costumes'. Sharayah took the scale mail shirt off the one next to her, and slipped it on over her t-shirt. Then, hesitantly, she pulled the soldier's trousers off him.

"Thank God they wear underwear," said Sharayah, breathing out heavily.

"I think we'll let them keep that," suggested Courtney, having difficulty with her suit (she had accidentally put the leather brigandine on backwards). Sharayah pulled 'her' trousers on, then walked over to help Court.

"Thanks," said Courtney after the shirt was on the right way. She also removed her captive's pants and pulled them on.

Sharayah bent over and picked up the belts with the swords attached to them up. She passed one to Courtney, and secured the other around her waist. Finally, they pulled their leather boots on.

"Bit heavy, isn't it?" noted Courtney.

Sharayah had picked up one of the fallen Saxons' helmets, held her hair up, and put the helm over her head.

"Oh no, there's only one helmet," she said, as the realization hit her.

"Saxon women fought too," Courtney reminded her.

"It just seemed safer to pose as a man," reasoned Sharayah. "That way, other soldiers would be less inclined to...well, you know."

"Yes, I know what you mean," said Courtney. She shuddered. Best not to even think about that. "But I guess I'll just have to bear with it."

"Right, let's put these two inside," said Sharayah, grabbing one of the Saxons by the arms. Courtney took the other by the legs, and the two of them pulled their victims into one of the huts. They left quickly and shut the door behind them.

"Now, that's done," said Rayah, practicing disguising her voice like a man's. "I suppose we'll just wait until Cerdic reaches us."

"Best to avoid it as long as possible, huh?" said Courtney.

"Exactly."

Katie and Christopher pressed themselves flat against a stone building.

"Let's break into this one and get some clothes," he whispered.

He reached over and pushed the window open, and poked his head inside. There was nobody home. It was a fairly depressing little cottage. One room, a hay floor, straw bed, and some clothes tossed in a pile on a table. There was also a table for two people to eat at.

"No one's home," said Christopher. "I think there's a guy's outfit and a woman's outfit in there. Do you want to get dressed first?"

"Sure," whispered Katie. She inched over and climbed in the window.

"I'll keep a lookout," said Christopher, covering up the window with his back. "If anyone comes, I'll make a noise like an owl hooting."

"Gotcha," said Katie. Five minutes later, Christopher felt a sharp prod in the back which told him Katie was finished. He quickly moved out of the way so she could come out. She emerged from the building, dressed in a green robe with a brown leather belt. There were sandals on her feet.

"It suits you," said Christopher charmingly. "You've got your ordinary clothes on underneath, I presume?"

"Yes," said Katie. "I had to cut off the lower part of my pants, though."

"What did you do with them?" asked Christopher.

"They're tucked inside the robe," explained Katie.

"Right, I'll get dressed now, and you keep a lookout, eh?"

Christopher climbed in the window and Katie blocked it with her back. Another five minutes later, Christopher prodded Katie with his index finger and she moved out of the way. Christopher clambered out, wearing a loose beige shirt, and long brown pants. He wore leather shoes.

"It's a little tight across the chest," Christopher joked, pulling at the very loose material. He began to practice a Scottish accent.

"I hope no one recognizes their clothes," said Katie, practicing an English accent.

"Your accent's perfect," complimented Christopher.

"Thanks," replied Katie. "What's yours supposed to be?"

Christopher laughed. That couldn't be good. "Perhaps I should try harder," he said. "How's that?"

"Much better."

And everybody's settled in! Well, not really, but you get the idea. Thanks once again to my reviewers, and I'll get to work on the next chapter soon!


	3. Chapter III: Meetings

Thanks to all my great reviewers! You're all helping!

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Katie and Christopher casually strolled around the side of their hut, trying to keep out of view. The villagers would be suspicious if two people they'd never seen just appeared out of the blue, so they had to make it look as though they'd come to the estate from afar.

They crept briskly towards the dirt road leading up to the gates of the city. No one shouted out 'Oi! You!' or 'Who goes there?' so they assumed they were alright. They reached the road.

"Alright, we made it," said Christopher, stating the obvious. "Now we've just got to head in and ask Marius for lodgings."

"He won't do it without incentive," Katie pointed out. "Maybe if we agree to be his serfs?"

"Do you really want to live a serf's life?" asked Christopher. "Come on, I've got a plan."

And so they began trudging towards the wooden doors.

"What we do is this: when we get there," said Christopher, "we tell Marius that we are warriors, needing a place to stay for a while."

"Warriors?" said Katie incredulously. "What if they make us fight?"

"How well can you?" asked Christopher.

"I'm alright..." said Katie.

"I'm sure you'll do fine," said Christopher. "All we need is to get you a weapon. What sort of weapon would you use?"

"Uhh..." said Katie, thinking, "a pair of swords."

"Lancelot style, eh?" said Christopher. "Well, if that's what you want, that's what you'll use. We've just got to find a pair of swords..."

Their conversation was interrupted by a brusque voice.

"Who goes there?" It was coming from about them, on top of the wall. They had evidently reached the gates and not realized it in their deep discussion. Katie and Christopher looked up to see a Roman officer, dressed in full gear, looking down at them.

"Who goes there?" he demanded again.

"We are a pair of marauding warriors," said Christopher, in his thinned-but-convincing Scottish accent. "We wish for a place to stay for a few nights."

"Please tell your master that we have arrived," said Katie.

"May I have your names?" he asked.

"I am...Edwin, fighter from Scotland," said Christopher.

"And my name is Raven," said Katie. "I come from south of the wall."

The Roman nodded his head to the guard on either side of him. The two men disappeared from view, to go tell Marius. So far, so good.

Katie looked around casually. She could see the poor, hungry serfs gathered around their pitiful fire, in between all their miserable houses. And she saw the village elder, hanging by his hands on a chain from a pyramid of sticks. She felt a huge pang of pity for the people living there, but she took solace knowing that Arthur would free them.

"How is it, good 'Raven'," said the Roman, "that you be a warrior but carry no weapon?" Damn. He was observant.

"I...I..." stammered Katie, struggling to find an excuse. She had been taken off-guard by the question.

"She lost them in battle," Christopher answered for her. "We fought a group of bandits on our way here. We killed three of them, but the rest fled – not before filching Raven's pair of swords, though."

"I see," said the Roman. "I am Tiberius. I will ensure, if it pleases his grace, that you will receive replacements."

"Thank you," said Katie, grateful to Christopher.

The wooden doors opened and Marius strolled out, accompanied by four Roman footmen. He was a squat little man – Christopher and Katie were almost taller than he was.

"Ah, finally, some relief in these forgotten parts," Marius began cheerfully, but stopped when he caught sight of them and their ragged clothing.

Marius looked them up and down, an expression of disdain on his face. "These are warriors?" he said to Tiberius, who nodded his head.

"I am Edwin, of Scotland," said Christopher, "and this is my good friend and companion Raven, from south of the wall."

"You do not look quite the type for warriors," said Marius, chuckling slightly. "Why, Raven, you have no weapon."

"They were stolen," said Katie.

"Bandits took them on their way here," Tiberius explained. "I promised her new swords, if you would give them lodgings."

"It all depends," said Marius. "Whom do you serve?"

"We serve no one," said Christopher. "But neither do we have any quarrel with Rome."

Marius nodded. "Are you Christians?" he questioned. Katie and Christopher both knew this was a Hobson's choice: they either say yes and possibly get lodgings, or they say no and get chucked in the dungeon.

The two of them both nodded in unison. "Of course we are," said Katie. Well, it was true. They both were.

"Very well," said Marius. "How long do you need to stay for?"

Katie and Christopher looked at each other.

"We thought a...week," said Christopher.

"And a half," added Katie.

"Hmm, very well, then," said Marius, as though he didn't like giving housing to such people. Christopher felt his dislike for the man spike dramatically. "Come, we will get you sorted out."

---

Kelsey only just had time to get behind the bar before she was faced with the man of the moment: Dagonet himself.

"An ale, please," he said quietly. Kelsey took one of the clay mugs, astounded at being faced with him in real life, and walked over to the barrel. She had never done this before...

She turned the tap, and the sweet, brown liquid poured from keg into the tankard. When it was almost full, Kelsey closed the tap, and what ale was still pouring out just filled the cup. She brought the foaming mug over to Dagonet and passed to him. He nodded his thanks and put a bronze coin on the bar.

Kelsey looked up to see Vanora taking her baby from Bors, then being pressured to sing.

"Shut up!" Bors shouted to the rest of the tavern, pushing Vanora out into the open space. "Vanora will sing."

Vanora reluctantly agreed (after having been badgered by Bors and the other knights to do so) to sing. She stepped out into the middle, cradling her baby in her arms, and sang:

"Land of bear, and land of eagle,

Land that gave us birth and blessing,

Land that called us ever homeward,

We will go home across the mountains.

"We will go home,

We will go home,

We will go home across the mountains.

"We will go home, singing our song,

We will go home across the mountains.

"Hear our singing,

Hear our longing,  
We will go home across the mountains."

Kelsey sung the song very quietly under her breath the entire time, as she knew it off by heart. She also knew that soon enough, the man of the moment would be arriving: Arthur.

Sure enough, Jols shouted out, "Arthur!" and after that Galahad did the same. Kelsey leaned over the bar to try and see him. And there he was. All the knights walked over to meet their leader, leaving Kelsey a very difficult time trying to see him.

She could hear them talking, but could not discern any words over the talking that was taking place all around her, and the distance away. She quickly discerned when Arthur proposed that they go to the north and rescue the family, because Galahad, Gawain, and Bors all simply started laughing.

Soon after, the shouting began. Bors was the first to do so.

"...you think more of Roman blood than you do of ours?" he yelled.

Then the noise died down and Kelsey could hear Arthur's voice.

"Bors, these are our orders," he said. "We leave at first light and when we return, your freedom will be waiting for you. A freedom we can embrace with – "

"I am a free man!" Bors roared. His baby began crying. "I will choose my own fate!"

Tristan's voice was so low it was difficult to discern what he was saying, for he spoke next. A massive argument ensued, broken only when Dagonet spoke.

"The Romans have broken their word," he said calmly. "We have the word of Arthur. That is good enough. I'll prepare."

He walked off quietly, and moments later the other knights followed suit. Arthur was left standing alone, all his friends having left him.

---

Krista and the sentry entered Novanti, and Krista got her first good look at the village. It was comprised completely of huts made of sticks with straw roofs. In the middle of the dirt road which led around it roared a fire, around which sat several Woads.

"This is the great Novanti?" asked Krista.

"Yes," replied the sentry. "What is it?"

"Nothing," said Krista quickly. "I just thought it would be more than this..."

The sentry pointed a four-fingered hand up into the trees. Krista looked up and gasped. Around the trunks of thicker trees were round decks of wood, with a round hut around the tree itself. There were rope bridges connecting the various decks to each other.

"Now I understand," she said incredulously.

"I must take you to meet Merlin," said the sentry, taking no notice of Krista's amazement. They walked under one of the rope bridges. The guard called up into the trees in Woad dialect, and a Woad up above lowered a rope ladder.

"Climb," the guard said simply to Krista, who hesitantly began scaling the ladder. The ropes and wooden steps creaked unpleasantly, and Krista was uncertain of whether this was such a good idea.

When she reached the top, the Woad that had dropped the ladder down helped her up.

"Thank you," she said. A few moments later, the sentry who had brought her to the village came up.

"Come with me," he said to her in his deep voice, and led her to the right across the ladder. At the first hut they came to, the sentry brushed aside the fabric strips that hung from the top of the door and walked in.

"Merlin," he said, "we have a visitor who wishes to meet with you."

"Send her in, Aclhai" came Merlin's raspy voice. 'Aclhai', as Krista presumed, reappeared and beckoned her in.

There was the man of the moment right there. Merlin sat in the middle of the small, room leaned up against the tree which protruded through the centre. There were a few candles about the room, lighting it.

"Ah, so this is our visitor?" said the old man, looking at Krista.

"It is," Krista answered.

"You are but an adolescent," he said. 'Well spotted,' thought Krista. "Tell me, child, what is your name?"

"I am Nomokis," answered Krista nervously.

"Nomokis, what is it you wish of us?" he asked.

"Well, I wish to be able to stay here in Novanti," she answered. "My village was ransacked by Saxons."

"Saxons?" repeated Merlin, in deep thought. "Clearly these are darker times than I had believed. Just when we believed we were to have our homeland back, for the Romans are leaving, a new enemy arrives. The Saxon is far worse than the Roman. It is undoubted we will have to fight."

Krista thought for a second. "If it would please you," she said hesitantly, "I am able. I can use a bow well."

It was half a lie, and half truthful. She could use a bow, but 'well' was reaching a little.

Merlin sank into thought again.

---

Courtney and Sharayah stood around, in their disguises. They did not want to do any...Saxonly things, so they decided to simply wait until Cerdic or Cynric or someone found them.

"Ooh, is someone coming?" said Courtney, standing to attention.

"I think so," said Sharayah nervously, standing as well. "Let's hope our disguises work."

Around one of the stone buildings came someone, but it was not Cerdic or Cynric. It was a great monster of a man, with long brown hair and a tangled beard. His eyes were as black as coal. In his right hand he clutched a massive sword, and the girls could see there was a mace strapped to his back as well. He was heavily leathered and chainmailed. Courtney thought he had to be seven feet tall.

The monstrosity looked at them both. He looked at Sharayah for a few moments extra, as though he found something strange about this 'man', then walked forward, turned around, and looked at them both.

"What are you doing?" he growled, in a deep, menacing voice that made Sharayah's skin crawl.

"We are...uhh..." said Sharayah, disguising her voice.

"You've forgotten?" growled the man.

"We – " started Courtney, but was interrupted.

"Oi! What's going on over here?" Another man arrived. He had shaggy brown hair and deep, hazel eyes. He was clean-shaven but for a small goatee. Instead of fur, he wore a dark green cloak. There was a thick sword in his hand and a bow and quiver on his back.

"Oh, it's you, Wulfgar," said the man, his square jaw hardly moving as he said it.

"Bariff," replied Wulfgar. It was clear that there was little cooperation between the two men. "What are you doing here? Run out of pants to sniff?"

"I was coming over here to find out who the Hell was wasting their time chatting with soldiers," said Bariff matter-of-factly.

"I am not chatting," retorted Wulfgar. "I am trying to put these soldiers in their place. You two," he barked suddenly at Court and Rayah, "join the rest of the army!"

Courtney and Sharayah nodded quickly and without hesitation began to rush over to the bulk of the army. They did, however, catch the end of the conversation.

"Bariff," said Wulfgar, "I know you're too important to kill. But I am the captain, and I have the ability to do whatever else I please with you. I can easily remove one of your fingers – or worse. I trust those are expendable."

Court and Rayah, terrified, sped off without further hesitation.

-----

What does everyone think of Wulfgar and Bariff??? I'll update sooner this time, I promise!


	4. Chapter IV: First Night In The Dark Ages

A thousand apologies for my tardiness. And broken promise.

That evening, Christopher removed the sword in its scabbard from his belt and put it on the small table that had been supplied with his room. Well, their room. Marius had been too cheap to give them a room each to stay in, so it looked like they were sharing one. The room was fairly small. There was only a round, dark wooden table, and one bed. As close as you could get to a bed, anyway: it was basically just a topless wooden box with a mattress inside. There was one lumpy pillow and a single sheet.

"Not exactly the Ritz," said Christopher. He flicked a small insect off the bed. "More like the nits."

Katie opened the wooden door and entered the room. There was a bundle of brown cloth under her left arm. "Hey," she greeted, shutting the door behind her.

"Hey," Christopher replied. "Where'd you go, dear? I missed you."

Katie laughed. "I've been getting my swords," she said. "Check it out." She held out the bundle and unwrapped it inside were a pair of deadly-looking shortswords. They weren't as classy as Christopher's was (his being made for a legionary); the blades looked a little crude, but much deadlier than his, no doubt.

"Very nice, 'Raven'," said Christopher, standing to examine her weapons.

"Thanks, 'Edwin'," said Katie. "Yours looks a bit cooler, though."

"Meh, that's not what counts in battle," Christopher pointed out.

"True," said Katie.

"Well, I'm tired, I'm going to turn in," said Christopher.

"OK," said Katie. "I think I'm going to as well. Do you want the bed?"

"Nah, it's alright, you can have it," said Christopher. "But I call the sheet."

He pulled the beige sheet from the bed and folded it, and laid it down on the floor. He removed his belt, but left his other clothes on. He lay down on the makeshift bed. It afforded at least some comfort. He closed his eyes.

"That doesn't look too comfortable," said Katie. "You sure you don't want the bed?"

Chris waved his hand dismissively. "You go ahead," he said. He yawned. "See you in the morning."

"Goodnight," said Katie, lying down, and closing her eyes.

About five minutes passed. Katie could not seem to get to sleep. Getting flung one and a half thousand years back in the time had a way of getting the better of her mind. She rolled over onto her front and looked at Christopher, his mouth half-open, drooling on the stone floor. She suppressed a laugh at his comical position.

Another ten minutes passed. Still Katie had not gotten to sleep. Christopher was lucky to be such a heavy sleeper. Wait...

She rolled onto her front again. "Chris, are you asleep?" she asked.

About a second went by, before Christopher said, "Yes."

Kelsey lay awake, staring at the ceiling, in her bed. Arthur was good enough to give her a room whilst she was there. She had had to explain to him that she had only just arrived from some town she'd forgotten the name of already. Being the kind man he was, Arthur had given her a very nice dinner and room, with a comfy feather bed and a nice little dresser. She had a good view of the sprawling fields out her window, as well. A warm breeze drifted in from the fells.

But there was no peace of mind, even with the calming sound of crickets chirping and the pleasant wind.

How could this have happened? And where was everyone else? One minute, she was an average teenager (with above average intelligence and looks, granted), just hanging out with her friends, and then POOF! She's a barmaid in Camelot in the late 400's.

She was worried about her friends. How did they get separated like this? Did they get zapped into Medieval England as well, or was it just her?

Whatever the case, she hoped sincerely that they would be back together soon.

Kelsey realized suddenly that she was thirsty. But she didn't know how; she'd been pulling pints all day, and liquid wasn't high on her list of favourite things at the moment.

But she was thirsty...where could she get a drink?

Well, she'd remembered seeing a well at the tavern (which was only just down the hall from her room), so she decided to just pop out quietly there and get a sip of water. She got out of her comfortable bed and cautiously walked out the door. At least with the stone floors, there were no boards to creak. She tiptoed down the hallway and out into the open-air tavern. There was a washed mug on the bar that she had forgotten to put a way, which she took over to the well.

She dipped it into the water and took a drink. It was nice and cool, but not too cold. She finished the mug, and filled it up again. She was going to take this into her room, but stopped short. She was not alone. Sitting at a secluded table, near the wall, was a man. On closer inspection, Kelsey realized who it was: Sir Lancelot.

He was boredly whittling a small hole in the wood of the table with his sword, staring despondently at the blade. There was an empty mug lying on its side next to the sword (probably once filled with ale). He did not seem in the best mood for conversation, so Kelsey decided to just be off. She was about to, when he spoke for the first time.

"Nice night," he said, not taking his eyes off his sword.

Kelsey turned to look at the knight. "It is, isn't it?" she agreed nervously. Lancelot looked up at her.

"I didn't catch your name," he said.

"I'm Katarina," she said. "I know who you are. You're Sir Lancelot."

"In all my glory," said Lance. "Tell me, Katarina: is this place your home?"

Kelsey was somewhat puzzled by the odd question. "It is now," she said, and it pained her to say so.

"Then let me give you a bit of advice," said Lancelot. "Don't leave it."

With that, he fell into an uneasy slumber, his head resting on the table. Kelsey, happy to have talked to Lancelot, but wishing it could have been under better circumstances, placed her mug of water next to the knight's head and returned to her room.

Krista leaned her back against the tree trunk that projected through the floor and roof of her hut. She pulled her itchy burlap blanket up to her shoulders and stared out the doorway. A few Woad sentries patrolled the rope bridges that connected her with the rest of the elevated part of the village. Every so often, one would walk past her door, spear in hand.

She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but couldn't. Every time she was about to drop off, she was jolted back to consciousness by a frightening sound of the wilderness or a sentry barking orders to another. Not to mention the infuriating, overwhelming background noise of the creatures of the night.

Krista eyed the bow and quiver of arrows which hung on her wooden wall. Her new weapons. She wanted to test them out sometime, before she had to use them. "If I have to use them," she said quietly to herself.

What better time to try them out than now? She couldn't get to sleep, there wasn't much else to do, and she had a window on her hut which looked out into a clearing. Why not? She stood up and walked over to the bow and arrows. She took the longbow and selected an arrow and walked over to the window. She nocked the missile.

Taking aim into the middle of the clearing, she let the arrow fly. She regretted shooting as soon as she had done so, however; the twang was sure to alert some of the sentries. Krista hung the bow back up and walked out the door.

Sure enough, the guards were standing alert, their spears held in both hands. The archers hidden in the high branches had their bowstrings taught. Krista walked up to the nearest guard and told him about the small misunderstanding. He lowered his spear and nodded to another, who did so in turn. Eventually, this set off a chain reaction and all the guards loosened their weapons.

Krista apologized and returned to her hut. She leaned back up uncomfortably against her tree. She pulled up the blanket and held it tightly around her. It irritated her face, but she couldn't care less...she was far too tired.

Sharayah lay on her front, her eyes wide open. She was lying on the grass under a heavy brown fur blanket. There was no force in heaven, earth, or hell that would get her to sleep that night. Well, would you, if you were camped out with a Saxon army?

Her fingers were on the pommel of her new sword. She didn't feel safe at all without it.

Rayah turned her eyes to look at Courtney. Apparently, her sister had slid under her blanket, because all Sharayah could see was a mound of fur. She nudged the spot where Courtney's shoulder probably was gently with her hand.

"Can you get to sleep?" she whispered to her sister, edging closer. There was no answer. Rayah moved Courtney's blanket away, to discover...

Nothing. Courntey was gone. Sharayah's heart stopped for a moment. Where was she? Had the Saxons –

"Oh God, no..." she said, beginning to feel the first onset of panic. "Where is she?"

"Where's who?" came a female voice near her. Sharayah looked up to see Courtney creeping back over, hopping over the backs of snoring Saxons to get back to her spot. Once she had gotten back under her blanket, Sharayah immediately began berating her.

"Where did you go?" she demanded, her voice a hiss. A Saxon next to her grunted and shifted. "You could have been killed!"

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," said Courtney. A smile was tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"...What did you do?" asked Sharayah, though she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know the answer.

"You know that fire over there?" said Courtney, nodding her head over to the ashes of a fire. "The ashes were cold, so I just had to."

"What?"

"Remember that Wulfgar dude? Well, he might be interested to find out where his new...makeup job came from." Her face spread into a wide grin, and she shut her eyes.

Sharayah couldn't help but feel amusement also filling her. She shut her own eyes, concluding it was safe, reduced her grip on the sword, and drifted into a troubled sleep.


End file.
